Project Description

While many professional organizations exist to support women in wine, Woman-Owned Wineries advocates for our industry's women in a distinct way by connecting them with new consumers.This is meant to put money directly into the pockets of hardworking women--a simple but profound form of empowerment.

ADVOCACY: Our winery directory invites folks to buy directly from women wine entrepreneurs. When we launched back in late 2017, in the wake of the wine country wildfires, this list focused on Sonoma County. Now, we have expanded to include 500+ wineries nationwide!

STORYTELLING: The power of storytelling changes lives. With this in mind, Woman-Owned Wineries aims to share insights—including dreams and challenges, hopes and fears, and everything in between--from the lives of woman winery owners who might otherwise never fall onto your radar.

WINE CLUB: In the interest of making it as easy as possible for you to access the wine of these women, we aim to deliver their wine to your table. Sign up for our wine club today!

How would workplaces run differently if women were in charge? What problems could we avoid if women had more money and therefore more power? How can we make that happen?

One answer: Support woman-owned businesses. Bastion women in their careers and entrepreneurial endeavors. When women are stronger, all of society is stronger.

JOIN THE CLUB

This club is for those of you who want to try something new, and to put your money where your values lie.

Our standard club offering is a monthly shipment that features one woman-owned winery. You'll choose from two or four bottles per month--or, go with our annual sampler. Quality standards will be high, as we seek wines that reflect ethical farming and production practices. As a way of supporting our local winegrowing community, we will initially focus on wineries from Sonoma County. Within the year, we will expand our partnerships to feature wines from across the nation.

Along the way, we'll share exclusive stories about these wineries that you won't read anywhere else. You'll also get special offers from each participating winery.

My name is Amy Bess Cook, and I'm working to bring greater social and economic power to women in wine. I want to do this by filling your wine glass--but first, I'll need your help.

Are you in?

I love working in the wine business--the way it brings its me closer to the earth, to the seasons, and to my senses. I love the art of hospitality, how well-practiced kindness and generosity can be transformative. And I love the lessons of the winemaking itself--the way the unexpected always happens and proves that nothing is entirely within my control. Working in this business never fails to bring beauty.

So much of that beauty has been modeled by strong, capable women mentors. Woman-Owned Wineries champions such figures.

My career spans two decades and several industries—including book publishing, the arts, and travel. My knack for storytelling has helped dozens of businesses and nonprofits reach new audiences.

As longtime brand and operations director for a boutique winery (2009 to 2017) I came to understand the inner workings of a small business, particularly on the direct-to-consumer side. My writing grew to encompass related topics.

In 2016, I ran a grassroots wine and literary project that raised over $5K for nonprofit organizations. Along with Woman-Owned Wineries, this challenged me to use my skills in service of the community.

Updates

The Project FAQs

Why support woman-owned wineries? Here are a few of our favorite reasons.

Only 10% of California wineries have hired women as a lead winemakers.

That’s true, even thought the major enology and viticulture programs have been graduating men and women in equal numbers since the 90s. In fact, some programs are graduating more women than men.

Of the wineries with lead winemakers as their owners, only 4% of women are also owners--versus 47% of men.

Women working in the wine business is no novelty. We’re in the vineyard, we’re in the cellar, we’re in the tasting room. Unfortunately, we're not as often in upper management of certain departments, and we’re rarely the business owners. Whatever the reason for lack of advancement or promotion, the cause of lack of ownership is plain—lack of funding.

Venture capital is hard to come by for women. Female CEO’s received 2.7% of venture capital in 2017 (a decrease from the previous year):

This lack of access to capital for women is nothing new. If you look back, women couldn’t even get loans to start businesses without a male cosignor until 1988.

So the history of American women as solo entrepreneurs is actually rather short. Our society’s support system, formal or informal, just isn’t in place to support women entrepreneurs.

I established Woman-Owned Wineries of Sonoma County to recognize and support female wine entrepreneurs. This reinforces their chances for success, and draws attention to the issues they face. Bonus: we all get to drink some incredible wine along the way!

*Thanks to Lucia and Jack Gilbert of Santa Clara University for some of this data.

Help establish a wine club with social impact! Contribute to our project at this level and become a Charter Member (2 bottles monthly). We'll send you a welcome package with "Thirsty for Change" Tee of your choice, logo tote bag, and a selection of special discounts with wine and food vendors. Details and monthly wine charges are outlined here. Welcome to the club!

45 Left

5 Supporters

Select this reward

Monetary Contribution With No Reward

Support the economic empowerment of women in wine (and everywhere!) with a donation in any amount.

45 Supporters

Contribute

$ 25

Handwritten Thank-You Note

Chip into the campaign, and I'll write you personally to say thanks. (Yes, all of you.)

26 Left

4 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 45

"Thirsty for Change" Crop Tee

How cute is this tee? We think so too...

197 Left

3 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 50

Notecard Set: I Look Like a Winemaker

Four postcards based on papercut illustrations depicting women in winemaking

8 Left

7 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 100

Journal Subscription + Notecard Set

Comestible is quarterly print journal about food, the places it comes from and the people who grow it.

For that harvest season beer (or for those of you doing that wine-in-a-can thing)!

3 Left

3 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 100

Sparklepurse Grab-Bag of Gourmet Discounts

Inside this pink glittery handmade coin purse is a handful of coupons for use at your favorite wineries and restaurants. Enjoy!

1 Supporter

None available

$ 35

"Thirsty for Change" Baby Bib

Mamas and Papas, start those babies young with a message of hope and empowerment. Our "Thirsty for Change" tagline embellishes a 100% cotton bib with velcro closure that fits most kiddos up to 36 months.

30 Left

0 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 35

"Thirsty for Change" Mug

Kick the morning off right with a cup of joe from this 11 oz ceramic logo mug.

100 Left

0 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 45

"Thirsty For Change" Black Unisex Tee

Wear our slogan with pride!

199 Left

1 Supporter

Select this reward

$ 150

Charter Club Membership (4 bottles monthly)

Help establish a wine club with social impact! Contribute to our project at this level and become a Charter Member (4 bottles monthly). We'll send you a welcome package with "Thirsty for Change" Tee of your choice, logo tote bag, and a selection of special discounts with wine and food vendors. Details and monthly wine charges are outlined here. Welcome to the club!

50 Left

0 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 300

Charter Club Membership (6 bottles monthly)

Help establish a wine club with social impact! Contribute to our project at this level and become a Charter Member (2 bottles monthly). We'll send you a welcome package with "Thirsty for Change" Tee of your choice, logo tote bag, and a selection of special discounts with wine and food vendors. Details and monthly wine charges are outlined here. Welcome to the club!

About the entrepreneur

Rewards

featured reward

$ 75

Charter Club Membership (2 Bottles Monthly)

Help establish a wine club with social impact! Contribute to our project at this level and become a Charter Member (2 bottles monthly). We'll send you a welcome package with "Thirsty for Change" Tee of your choice, logo tote bag, and a selection of special discounts with wine and food vendors. Details and monthly wine charges are outlined here. Welcome to the club!

45 Left

5 Supporters

Select this reward

Monetary Contribution With No Reward

Support the economic empowerment of women in wine (and everywhere!) with a donation in any amount.

45 Supporters

Contribute

$ 25

Handwritten Thank-You Note

Chip into the campaign, and I'll write you personally to say thanks. (Yes, all of you.)

26 Left

4 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 45

"Thirsty for Change" Crop Tee

How cute is this tee? We think so too...

197 Left

3 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 50

Notecard Set: I Look Like a Winemaker

Four postcards based on papercut illustrations depicting women in winemaking

8 Left

7 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 100

Journal Subscription + Notecard Set

Comestible is quarterly print journal about food, the places it comes from and the people who grow it.

For that harvest season beer (or for those of you doing that wine-in-a-can thing)!

3 Left

3 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 100

Sparklepurse Grab-Bag of Gourmet Discounts

Inside this pink glittery handmade coin purse is a handful of coupons for use at your favorite wineries and restaurants. Enjoy!

1 Supporter

None available

$ 35

"Thirsty for Change" Baby Bib

Mamas and Papas, start those babies young with a message of hope and empowerment. Our "Thirsty for Change" tagline embellishes a 100% cotton bib with velcro closure that fits most kiddos up to 36 months.

30 Left

0 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 35

"Thirsty for Change" Mug

Kick the morning off right with a cup of joe from this 11 oz ceramic logo mug.

100 Left

0 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 45

"Thirsty For Change" Black Unisex Tee

Wear our slogan with pride!

199 Left

1 Supporter

Select this reward

$ 150

Charter Club Membership (4 bottles monthly)

Help establish a wine club with social impact! Contribute to our project at this level and become a Charter Member (4 bottles monthly). We'll send you a welcome package with "Thirsty for Change" Tee of your choice, logo tote bag, and a selection of special discounts with wine and food vendors. Details and monthly wine charges are outlined here. Welcome to the club!

50 Left

0 Supporters

Select this reward

$ 300

Charter Club Membership (6 bottles monthly)

Help establish a wine club with social impact! Contribute to our project at this level and become a Charter Member (2 bottles monthly). We'll send you a welcome package with "Thirsty for Change" Tee of your choice, logo tote bag, and a selection of special discounts with wine and food vendors. Details and monthly wine charges are outlined here. Welcome to the club!